India… oh how I love you.
Let me paint this picture for you… Daily Life
My new team [Chosen Ones] is living at an orphanage somewhere in southern India.The orphanage is on several acres of land and there are no houses visible for miles around. It’s the dry season, but the flourishing palm trees and car rides are no less captivating. Farmers come in from the surrounding fields asking for prayer on a daily basis. There are 2 water buffalos on the property as well as chickens, roosters, turkeys, turtles, 3 German Shepherds and their 5 puppies.
There are about 20 kids that live here and they all call us “seestah” and “brotha”… Also, my name is apparently “Hama,” as I found out when one of the girls gave me a drawing she made of the Taj Mahal signed from Vaneela to her best friend Hama.
We have 3 meals prepared for us daily, and I don’t know if words will ever describe how amazing the food is here. I have no idea what I’m eating most of the time, but I am NOT complaining. It’s a good thing that one of my teammates motivates me to work out with her on the roof because there are so many delicious and carb filled options.
Ministry
Even though we’re living at the orphanage, our ministry is not at the orphanage. Yes, we do some painting and play with the kids during the cooler parts of the day, but our
ministry is usually at night. Our ministry contact is a pastor in the area who actually
started the orphanage. He usually comes to pick us up at night to take us to whatever
remote village where we’ll be preaching, or on Sunday mornings to go to some random church to teach. Our night ministry varies from going into houses and praying for people, to leading worship, preaching and praying for a bunch of people. I didn’t think that I would ever like this type of ministry, but it’s honestly becoming one of my favorites. There’s just something so different about doing ministry at night. India comes alive at night and there are people everywhere. Even though the spiritual climate is so dark here, the people are so open and receptive.
Cultural Notes and Quirks
-I have never seen so many mustaches in my life. I LOVE IT. I’m pretty sure as soon as men hit the age of 25 they start growing out their staches. I’ve been tempted more to start taking a photo of “a stache a day”. [Dad- I can hear you laughing from here]
-Ankles and shoulders are considered highly provocative. Keep those things covered. Especially if you’re an American/Western. We’re considered highly improper and provocative. I have no idea where they would get that idea from
-If you’re a woman and you plan on wearing pants, your shirt needs to be long enough
to cover past your butt. Otherwise, you’re being provocative.
-Car horns come in a variety of noises here and they are used INCESSANTLY. On our 7 hour bus ride from the Hyderabad airport to the area where we’re staying was one of those moments where I had to choose to laugh. Anytime we’d start drifting off, the horn would start blaring. We were also watching a 4 hour long Bollywood movie on full blast. Even with all of this, I ended up sleeping on the floor of the bus for about an hour because it had been about 72 hours since I had slept.
-Soda… I don’t know what magical hat people are pulling these things out of, but we can be in the most remote village and randomly be handed some chilly soft drink during ministry. My personal favorite: RC Q “Cloudy Lemon” flavor. Least Favorite: Thumbs up… I’m pretty sure they mix that with a narcotic of some sort.
-The head bobble is a common way of saying yes or no. There’s no real distinction
between the two. It’s just entertaining.
All of the quirks aside, India is one of the most hospitable countries imaginable. The
people have a true servant’s heart and it’s been such a blessing to be here.
Stay tuned… I’ve got several more blogs planned. Next will be the 26th Birthday Pizza Hut Fiasco
